Posts for tag: Diabetic Foot Care

If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes the first thing you want to do is work with your doctor to create a treatment plan that will keep your blood sugar in check. Making sure your blood sugar is within a healthy range is key to preventing health problems. Of course, one of the most commonly affected areas of the body when you have diabetes is your feet. Our Philadelphia, PA, podiatrists are here to tell you what you can do to prevent diabetic-related foot complications.

Examine Feet Daily

The only way you are going to know if there is a problem with your feet is if you are checking them out thoroughly every day to look for symptoms such as swelling, redness, tenderness to the touch, corns and calluses, cuts, open wounds and other problems that could easily turn more serious. Detecting these problems now and getting the proper care from our Philadelphia foot doctor could prevent serious complications from happening.

Stay Physically Active

One way to keep your blood sugar levels in check is to get up and moving; however, we understand that if you are new to a workout routine you may want to sit down and talk to us about how to start. Furthermore, you’ll want to make sure you have the right shoes and perhaps even custom orthotics to ensure that your feet don’t cause you problems as you begin your new workout regimen.

Keep Feet Clean

Your feet, just like the rest of you, need to be properly cleaned every day. When you get in the shower or the tub make sure you are using soap and water to clean every area of your feet, including between toes. This is a surefire way to get rid of bacteria responsible for infections such as athlete’s foot. Once you get out of the shower, make sure to completely and thoroughly dry off your feet.

Always Wear Shoes

Going barefoot is a bad idea when you have diabetes. This is because a lot of people with diabetes also have some degree of nerve damage in their feet and don’t know when they’ve stepped on something that could cause a foot injury. Wearing socks and shoes ensures that you keep your feet free from cuts, sores and wounds.

Trim Your Toenail

Long toenails can also increase your chances for ingrown toenails. To prevent this problem it’s important to keep your toenails trimmed regularly. Toenails should be trimmed straight across (never at an angle) and should be level with the tips of your toes. Toenails that are trimmed too low are also at risk for an ingrown toenail. Having trouble trimming your nails yourself? No problem; our podiatrist can do that for you!

The Foot & Ankle Group in Philadelphia, PA, and Mount Laurel, Bordentown, and Columbus, NJ, is dedicated to providing patients of all ages with the proper foot and ankle care they need. If you have diabetes you may have questions along the way about your foot care regimen. Turn to our expert podiatric team anytime.

Diabetes is a serious and very common disease. Over 29 million people in the United States have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes affects many major body systems including nervous, immune and circulatory. That means diabetes affects you throughout your body, especially your feet.

Diabetic ulcers are a painful, debilitating problem which can happen in about 15% of people with diabetes. But there is help available. Your podiatrists at The Foot & Ankle Group in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania want you to know about prevention and treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.

Diabetic ulcers can happen because of injury to your foot, lack of circulation, and lack of proper nerve function. Because diabetes affects the nervous system, you may not even feel any pain from an ulcer. You may notice redness, swelling, a bad odor, or drainage coming from your foot.

Your podiatrists at The Foot & Ankle Group want you to know how to prevent diabetic foot ulcers. Remember to:

Check your feet daily, including using a mirror to see the soles of your feet

Wash, dry and apply lotion to your feet daily

Always wear comfortable socks and shoes, and never go barefoot

If you do develop a diabetic ulcer on your foot, your podiatrists at The Foot & Ankle Group want to promote healing as fast as possible, before your ulcer can become infected. They will suggest:

Taking pressure off of your feet, by using a brace or special footwear

Using crutches or a wheelchair

Removing any dead skin or tissue

Applying topical medications and dressings on the ulcer

If your diabetic ulcer does become infected, antibiotics may be prescribed. In cases of a severe diabetic ulcer that doesn’t respond to treatment, surgery may be indicated. The goal of surgery for a diabetic ulcer is to relieve pressure. This can be achieved by shaving or excising bone, and correcting any bone deformities.

Diabetic ulcers can be serious and can limit your daily activities, keeping you from enjoying your life. But help is just a phone call away. If you have a diabetic ulcer, don’t wait for the problem to get worse. It’s time to call your podiatrists at The Foot & Ankle Group, with offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Mount Laurel, Bordentown, and Columbus, New Jersey. Call today and feel better tomorrow!

Time is of the essence when it comes to dealing with diabetic-related foot problems.

There are currently 29.1 million people in the US who have diabetes. While treatment and control of this chronic disease can certainly prevent complications, a shocking 8.1 million people with diabetes are actually undiagnosed. If left untreated this condition can cause circulation problems, loss of vision, nerve damage, stroke and even limb amputation. With diabetic-related foot problems being so common, it’s important that you know how to effectively treat diabetic ulcers should the issue arise.

First and foremost you will want to see your Philadelphia podiatrist. While ulcers and other foot problems may not always be a cause for serious concern, if you are dealing with diabetes, these conditions need attention.

Take it easy

Rest and taking pressure of the infected foot will go a long way to improve your condition. Your podiatrist may even recommend the use of a cast to help speed up the healing process. In fact casts and other bandages can improve about 73 percent to 100 percent of all treated foot ulcers. However, do not attempt to wrap your ulcer yourself, unless otherwise instructed. You should always see your podiatrist to find out the proper way to wrap your wound.

Ward away infection

One of the most important things your Philadelphia podiatrist can do is protect your ulcer from further complications. Since certain bacteria are easily able to enter this open wound, it’s important to prescribe antibiotics to our diabetic patients to prevent further damage and more serious infections from occurring. Since ulcerations and infections of the foot are the most common causes for diabetic hospitalizations, it’s important to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Remove the problem

When you see your Philadelphia podiatrist we may need to remove dead skin and tissue to better see and treat your ulcer. This process is known as debridement and this will help us to better handle and care for your foot problem.

If you notice redness, drainage coming from your foot, pain, fever or pus, then it’s time to see your Philadelphia, PA podiatrist at The Foot & Ankle Group. The sooner you seek treatment the better. Don’t deal with the scary complications of diabetic foot problems. Call us today!

The Foot and Ankle Group are specialists in wound care. Our physicians have a combined 30 plus years of experience working in wound centers and treat the most complicated foot, ankle and leg infections in Philadelphia and southern New Jersey hospitals. Our practice employs wound care nurses to assist in our treatment of the most difficult to heal wounds.